Art Treasures of Kinloch Castle: CUPID FIRING AN ARROW

CUPID FIRING AN ARROW

ROTONDO OIL PAINTING AT RISK

Photographs and text © George W. Randall co-founder in July 1996 and former Vice Chairman Kinloch Castle Friends' Association.

This magnificent painting is part of the Sir George Bullough, Bt. Memorial

gifted to the British nation by his widow in February 1957 and located in
Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum, Scotland. The fully furnished former late
Victorian hunting lodge is today in the care of Scottish Natural Heritage,
an agency funded by and responsible to the Scottish Parliament.

Regrettably no specific care or funding has ever been allocated for the
preservation / conservation of these magnificent treasures
purchased with tax payers money.

Oil on board Rotondo -72½ cms. / 30 inches diameter, executed in En Grisaille style -

a technique of monochrome painting in shades of grey in order to imitate the effect of relief.

18^th Century Continental School. There is no indication of artist or date.

The quiver full of barbed arrows and still smouldering torch lie on the ground to the right

in this portrait of a chubby Cupid. The unattributed and undated painting create

the illusion of being three-dimensional.

In Roman mythology Cupid, the son of Venus,

is the god of desire and love. Anyone pierced with Cupid’s gold-headed arrow is reputedly

filled with an overwhelming desire to fall in love.

The curvature of Cupid’s bow symbolises the double curve of the human lip.

Displayed above the mantel-shelf in one of Kinloch Castle’s period bedrooms in the west wing, the kneeling Cupid, wings outstretched, his bow drawn,
is about to fire his arrow of love directly at the occupants of the four-poster bed

which faces the picture.

Professionally appraised for condition by an art conservator

twenty-eight years ago - March 1996 -

the work was found to be in “excellent structural condition.”

The painted five section wood panel consisted of four joints all

“in excellent condition with no recent movement along the joints.” It was noted the joints had been “previously filled and retouched but showed no sign of any problem.”

A “slight but stable concave warp was noted at the top of the central join.”

The “slight surface spotting and staining” could be improved “by surface cleaning and

re-varnishing” which, at the time, was considered possible on-site and in-situ without

the need to remove the work from the wall.

No worm activity was apparent, but the white circular timber frame was screwed to the wall and the painting was not removed for examination.

Regrettably the painting is in the same bedroom as Two Putti With Flowers, featured in a previous post, which is riddled with woodworm.

A possible artist is Dutchman Jacob de Wit, (1695-1754),

a member of the Guild of St. Luke or one of his followers, most notably, Jan de Groot,
Jan Punt, Dionys van Nijmegen or brothers Frans or Jacob Xavery.

If so, this 250 plus year old work is not only extremely valuable in monetary terms but more so as an unrecognised masterpiece of en-grisaille.

Famous for his religious scenes, de Wit was particularly noted for

his use of the en-grisaille technique.

As part of my research I found no examples of his en-grisaille work
depicting a cupid firing an arrow,

but many do show groups of boisterous putti or cherubs.